Farrington trio grabs the gold

Farrington's formula for another state crown at the Chevron/HHSAA State Wrestling Championships was rather simple: new coach, higher bar, a return to the top.

Up close, however, the school's second state championship in girls wrestling had more to do with willpower than circumstance. Farrington amassed 144 points to easily outdistance Kahuku (117) and Iolani (113.5).

Three Governors -- Samantha Batoon, Tani Ader and Ashlee Lilo -- powered the Govs to their first title since 2004, when the late Sandy Obra was in charge.

Batoon, who quit the team last year, had the comeback of comebacks, and it was only fitting. She gave her team and a frenzied Blaisdell Arena crowd a shocking jolt early on with a 3-2 upset of three-time defending state champion Carla Watase.

Two overtime losses to Watase in preseason tournaments made Batoon hungrier.

"She's the only person I wanted to beat," Batoon said. "Today, I told myself to be aggressive, to be mad."

The duel was knotted at 1-all when Watase escaped the hold of Batoon for a 2-1 lead with 1:14 left. Batoon, relying on shoot moves to set up her throws, got Watase on a throw to take a 3-2 lead with 33 seconds left.

Watase had two opportunities to get a tying point, but was unable to escape the clutches of Batoon as time expired.

"Judo helped a lot. My takedown was a judo throw," Batoon said. "I (usually) do a head and arm, but I knew she would expect that."

"She's tough, and she's only a sophomore," said Nohara, who likely wrestled her last match. She accepted a softball scholarship from UH-Hilo recently, ending one of the greatest careers of any Hawaii wrestler.

"I don't love the pressure. I only love winning," she said.

Nohara's brute strength helped midway through the match, when she picked up Fatongia and threw her for two key points. Fatongia was relentless in the final minute.

Ader anchored the Govs with memories of the '04 team. As an eighth-grader, she trained with them and learned the meaning of persistence.

"I'm surprised we won, but we've worked hard," she said.

Last year, Reyes noted, Farrington ruled the regular season, only to come up short in the postseason as Kahuku won the title. This year, the tables turned.

"It's sweet revenge," said Ader, a junior.

Work is what Batoon learned to embrace in the past year. Her road to the title in the 108 class was paved with plenty of bumps. She didn't wrestle until her sophomore season, then was pinned by Watase in a preseason meet during the next campaign.

After quitting the team for personal reasons as a junior, Batoon made a pact with coach Darren Reyes, who is also her coach at Hawaii Tenri Judo Club.

"I told her to make me a promise to work with me, and I promised that she would become a state champion," said Reyes, who was an assistant coach for a decade.

Ader, who won her second state title with a pin of Cianah Hee, set the bar. Reyes asked Batoon to work even harder than Ader, and she responded.

State Champions

98 LBS

Renee Michell
KealakeheChampionship MatchDef. Taylor Ibera (Farrington) 4-3
Michell, seeded third, led from the start against top-seeded Ibera. Michelle was the aggressor and led 3-0 midway through the second period before Ibera cut the lead to one point entering the third.
Michell added an insurance point with 17 seconds left, but Ibera hustled for a point with 7 seconds remaining.
Michell edged Macy Yonamine (Kamehameha) in the semis 7-5. Third-place Match
Kelsie-Ann Mita (Mid-Pacific) def. Erin Uehara (Punahou), pin Fifth-place Match
Macy Yonamine (Kamehameha) def. Heather Omori (Mililani), 3-1

108 LBS

Samantha Batoon
FarringtonChampionship MatchDef. Carla Watase (Iolani) 3-2
The upset of the night was well-earned by the third-seeded Governor over the top seed. After a forearm blow gave Batoon a point -- and awarded Watase a penalty point -- to start the match, Watase went ahead 2-1 after escaping Batoon's grip midway through the second period.
Batoon scored a 2-point move with 33 seconds left in the third to take a 3-2 lead. Twice, Watase had opportunities to escape from Batoon's mount position, but ran out of space as time expired. Third-place Match
Kalae Johnson (Kahuku) def. Kira Hagi (Kapolei) 7-4Fifth-place Match
Tehani Ibarra (St. Anthony) def. Jaydene-Kailin Curran (Campbell) 8-6

120 LBS

Tani Ader
FarringtonChampionship MatchDef. Cianah Hee (Kahuku), pin
Ader captured her second state title by pinning Hee with 1:09 left in the second period. She had a 6-0 lead at the time against the unseeded Red Raider.
Ader, the OIA champion and top seed, won the 114 class crown last season. She pinned her first two challengers and blanked Jada Antolin (Pearl City) 7-0 in the semifinals.Third-place Match
Risha Mishima (Hawaii Baptist) def. Courtney Kinimaka (Kapolei) 4-0Fifth-place Match
Jada Antolin (Pearl City) def. Tamra Takeshita, pin

125 LBS

Danica Auna
KahukuChampionship MatchDef. Ariella Ing (Moanalua), pin
Auna, the top seed, was ahead 4-1 with 52 seconds left in the second period when she pinned Ing.
Auna was the runner-up at 108 last year. She was Kahuku's only individual champion last night. She defeated Mary Brzezowski (Kamehameha-Hawaii) by pin in the semifinals.Third-place Match
Kaleolani Souza (Aiea) def. Mary Brzezowski (Kamehameha-Hawaii), pinFifth-place Match
Cheryse Sana (Waianae) def. Kiana Parilla (Kamehameha), pin

130 LBS

Piikea Kalalau
BaldwinChampionship MatchDef. Punahele Luafalemana (Molokai) 7-3
The showdown between MIL rivals turned out to be somewhat one-sided. Kalalau was in control with a 4-0 lead after two periods.
Kalalau, the top seed, and Luafalemana were sidelined at times with injuries during the season.
Kalalau pinned her first three opponents, including Kelia Parilla (Kamehameha) in the semifinals.Third-place Match
JT Ojerio (Punahou) def. Robyn Teruya (Roosevelt) 9-8Fifth-place Match
Amanda Keliihoomalu (Kahuku) def. Kelia Parilla (Kamehameha) 4-3

175 LBS

Ashlee Lilo
FarringtonChampionship MatchDef. Kailee Andrade (Baldwin), pin
Lilo, the top seed, rallied from a five-point deficit to topple the MIL champion. Giving away several inches in height, Lilo brought Andrade down consistently from the start, but was unable to score until the late going.
Leading 7-4, Andrade was almost out of bounds when she spun on Lilo.
Down 13-11 with less than a minute to go, Lilo pinned Andrade.Third-place Match
Leya-Justina Luafalemana (Molokai) def. Shenna Cabasag (Mililani) 7-1Fifth-place Match
Ariel Moniz (Hilo) def. Ashley Abalos (Waianae), forfeit

220 LBS

Randolyn Nohara
KamehamehaChampionship MatchDef. Olivia Fatongia (Iolani) 4-3
Nohara frustrated Fatongia for a second year in a row with the narrow victory.
Fatongia, who lost in last year's final to Nohara 11-8, is only a sophomore.
Nohara pinned Hilo's Naoli Weller in her only match leading into the final.Third-place Match
Naoli Weller (Hilo) def. Vicky Green (Waianae), pinfifth-place match
Jasmine Ahmow-Moeava (Farrington) def. Pamela Higa (Pearl City), pin